The Darkest Touch

“A mistake,” Torin said.

“Exactly. Hades claimed him as a son merely to betray him, binding him to the underworld while allowing himself to roam free. And in the centuries since, they have hurt each other too much to ever become allies. Especially since neither one seems to have the capacity to forgive anything.”

Cameo’s gaze zinged between the pair. They were in sync. Feeding off of each other. And did Torin even realize that as he spoke, his hand moved up and down Keeley’s arm in a gesture of adoring affection, as if he couldn’t quite believe the treasure he held in his arms?

A pang razed her from throat to stomach. He’d never been able to look past his fear and his guilt to truly be with Cameo, but he’d certainly done so for Keeley.

Clearly his feelings ran deep.

Would Cameo ever have something like that?

Feeling sorry for myself.

Nothing new there.

Well, I have to stop.

“I wonder if he found Viola, too,” Torin said.

“I didn’t see her,” Cameo said. But then, the underworld had been vast, and a lot of demons had come and gone, distracting her, and she’d been high as a kite from being denied air for so long. Oh, and she couldn’t forget the blow she’d taken to the head when the demons had dragged her upstairs. She definitely could have missed the girl.

“If she’s there,” Keeley said, “and Lucifer has realized Cameo is gone, he will have stepped up security for this Viola person. Getting her will be more difficult.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll get her.” Torin peered at Keeley through narrowed eyes, radiating determination. “Are you listening to me? Do I have your full attention?”

He’d never spoken to Cameo that way. Trouble in paradise already?

“I have ears, don’t I?” Keeley said, leaning more firmly against his chest.

“You do, and they’re lovely,” he replied. “But you need to do us both a solid and use them. This time, you will not go through the portal without me. I repeat. Will not. Do you understand?”

Keeley shivered as if he’d just relayed some sort of naughty bedtime story. “What will you do if I disobey?”

His hand stopped on the girl’s hip and squeezed, the glove pulling taut. Heat radiated from him, so much and so hotly it actually stroked over Cameo, making her shiver. “I’ll have to show you.” He jumped to his feet, using Keeley as a shield—to hide an erection?

“You’ll have to excuse us,” he said, looking like a kid who’d just found out Santa had visited. “We have an argument to settle.”

“Bye.” Keeley waved at Cameo as he dragged her out of the room.

No trouble in paradise. He’d spoken so forcefully because he’d felt forcefully, wanting...needing. Cameo sank against her mound of pillows. Always in the back of her mind she’d wondered if she’d made a mistake parting with him. But no, she hadn’t.

I was never going to be the right female for him.

Lazarus, on the other hand...

It was a good thing she’d been taken from him. She might have stayed with him otherwise, and eventually he would have discarded her. No one could deal with her dark emotions for long.

So...why did she still want to go back for him?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

KEELEY AND TORIN spent the day in bed, practicing skinless sex—masters had to be dedicated to their craft—interrupted only by the occasional knock on the door. Paris and Sienna had been ready to chat, and Keeley had known it would be futile and cruel to deny them. She’d explained the essentials of bonding, how Sienna had to flip a mental switch and stop thinking of the powers she wielded as belonging to Cronus; she had to see them as hers. For instance, the body Keeley inhabited would have decayed if she hadn’t claimed it as her own.

Keeley spent some time painstakingly outlining the other steps in the necessary process for Sienna to retain and even strengthen her powers, and the girl and Paris listened raptly. When they seemed to have grasped everything they had to do, Torin kicked them out. He’d had some more fun with Keeley, but it hadn’t been long before Gideon and Scarlet had arrived to thank Keeley for flashing Gideon away from the Unspoken One before a deathblow could be delivered.

While the interruptions irritated Torin, they delighted Keeley. This team of immortals had finally accepted her. They craved her input and her approval. All my dreams, finally coming true.

The only crimp in her day was when, after another bout of naughty playtime, Torin had gone quiet, pensive.

Thinking about Hades’s offer?

Fear showed up, bringing unwelcome thoughts. Was it only a matter of time before Torin decided this wasn’t good enough for him—or her? She shook her head. She was Torin’s treasure. That wasn’t going to change. It was time she had faith in him.

Reyes knocked on their door late in the evening. Danika had recovered, he said, and was ready to use the artifacts again.

Keeley dressed in casual clothing, saying to Torin, “Maybe I should try to find the box again. With the Morning Star, we won’t need a portal to get to Viola and Baden.”

He thought on it a moment. “If it drains Danika, and we’re unsuccessful, we’ll be out another few days.”

“Worth the risk,” she said. Except, when they crowded into the room together, even though Danika did all the right things, a portal did not open.

Could there be some kind of mystical block on the box?

Who had the power to do such a thing? Very few immortals.